The Merten Ranch in Toledo was the epicenter of conservative politics in Washington state Saturday night, as candidates for federal, statewide and local races who advanced out of the August primary gathered to shift their attention to November.
Roughly 10 weeks before the general election, state Rep. and Washington GOP Chair Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, told the audience that they would play a critical role in securing Republican success.
“I think word of mouth is the best way to change minds in business, in faith and politics,” Walsh told the approximately 200 attendees. “Nothing beats a person-to-person connection.”
In his remarks, Walsh challenged attendees to tell their neighbors, families and coworkers that the Republican Party “wants to fix what’s broken in this beautiful state.”
The challenge by Walsh comes ahead of a general election that features a slate of high-profile races on the ballot. This November, voters across Washington will elect a new governor for the first time in 12 years and will have an opportunity to weigh in on the race for U.S. Senate, the presidency, four conservative-backed initiatives and a series of district and county races, among other ballot items.
“We have the tools and we have the people, but we need all of you to talk to the great expansive people, the general public, and let them know that this year change is coming,” Walsh said.
Podcaster Brandi Kruse, who emceed the event, told the audience that talking to friends and neighbors would be critical in helping people “find their why.”
In her remarks, Kruse also noted the tight race between Democrat Dave Upthegrove, who currently sits in second place, and Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson, in the race for commissioner of public lands.
“The commissioner of public lands race is an example of what can happen when people decide to stay home,” Kruse said. “We’re talking about 51 votes being the difference between sending two Republicans through to November, or a Republican and a Seattle progressive. So if that doesn’t wake people up to say ‘every single vote matters,’ man, I don’t know what will.”
On Monday, auditor’s offices across Washington began a state-required manual recount of the 1.9 million ballots in the race. According to the Secretary of State’s office, the recount is expected to be completed within seven business days.
Former Third District Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican, leads both candidates by more than 20,000 votes.
In her remarks, Herrera Beutler said she is preparing to face off against King County Council Member Dave Upthegrove in the general election.
“Our forests, our public lands, have been mismanaged,” Herrera Beutler said. “They’ve been neglected, they’ve turned into crowded, diseased, tinderboxes, just waiting for a spark.”
The mismanagement, Herrera Beutler said, has led to an uptick in both forest fires and smoke.
“As commissioner, my mission is to take care of the forests by stewarding them, by using sound science to make sure that we can pass them on,” Herrera Beutler said. “It’s not just forests, it’s grazing lands, it’s tidal lands. There are millions of acres of your land, whether you recreate or fish or hunt: all of those things are at stake.”
Joe Kent, who is making a second attempt at representing Washington’s Third Congressional District, said he was “incredibly optimistic” by the results of the primary.
“If you look at the numbers across the board, whether it’s my race, whether it’s the governor’s race, the senate race, the ballot initiatives: we are winning on the issues,” Kent told the crowd. “We have the right messages. And you know what? The people agree with us. Washington state is not deep blue. This is not a purplish district right here. This is a red district. This is a common sense district. This is a common sense state.”
Kent, who will face Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, in the November election, has received a slate of high-profile support in his rematch. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Kent days ahead of the August primary while U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson recently hosted a fundraiser for Kent in Vancouver.
Dale Merten, who hosted the rally, said that during the fundraiser, Johnson told attendees that Republicans need to host “workhorses, not showboats.”
“Republicans are workhorses. Democrats are showboats,” Merten said. “I don’t hire a showboat.”
According to Merten, Johnson reiterated that the Republican Party needs to be a big tent party to increase voter turnout.
“The final thing that he said is that we need to save this nation, and we need to save Washington,” Merten said of Johnson’s remarks. “And our Republican candidates will do that.”
Secretary of state candidate Dale Whitaker, who will face incumbent Steve Hobbs in the general election, told the audience that while he’s lived the American dream, he’s concerned about the future of the state.
“I, like many of you, have considered … moving out of state,” Whitaker said.
Rebuffed by his wife, Whitaker, who said he became a U.S. citizen in 2015, opted to run for public office instead.
“I said ‘OK honey, well if we ain't leaving, we’re doing something,” Whitaker said. “And this is my doing something.”
According to Whitaker, Let’s Go Washington, which backed three conservative initiatives on the November ballot, should have been informed of a court case that challenged the validity of the signature-gathering efforts.
In the case, attorneys argued Hobbs’ office failed to determine if those who signed the initiatives were legal voters at the time they signed. In a unanimous decision, the Washington state Supreme Court disagreed with the arguments presented by Defend Washington.
According to Whitaker, the case is part of a broader pattern by Hobbs.
“That is the second time, this year, that Secretary Hobbs has used lawfare against the people of Washington,” Whitaker said.
The first instance, Whitaker said, came during a fight to remove a 30-day residency requirement from voter registration forms.
“We must fight to protect the citizen-only vote in this state, and in this country,” Whitaker said, adding that if elected, he would reinstate the requirement.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert, who will face Attorney General Bob Ferguson in the general election, reminded the audience that he has not lost an election in King County.
“I was the first sheriff elected in 30 years in King County,” Reichert, who later represented Washington’s Eighth Congressional District in Congress from 2005 to 2019, said. “Will you help me? Will you help us be the first Republican governor elected in the state of Washington in 40 years?”
According to preliminary election results Ferguson, a Democrat, outpaced Reichert across the state, earning 44.94% of the vote compared to Reichert’s 27.48%.
The sheriff during the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization protests, otherwise known as the Battle of Seattle, Reichert said it’s crucial for people to “do the right thing.”
“As an old SWAT commander, I’m deputizing all of you as my SWAT team,” Reichert said. “And we’re going to go out and kick ass.”
